How Successful Are You?

A compilation

Audio length: 9:14 Download Audio (8.4MB)

Loving God means obeying Him and keeping His commandments.1 The first step in this process is accepting the free gift of eternal life offered by Jesus Christ.2 This is the beginning of true biblical success. When the gift is received, transformation begins. …

As we grow and mature in Christ, we begin to think not only of ourselves but of others. Our greatest joy becomes what we can do for others and give to others, and how we can help them grow and prosper spiritually. This is true success, because a person can have all the power, money, popularity, and prestige the world has to offer, but, if his soul is empty and bitter, worldly success is really failure. “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?”3

One last word on biblical success. While transformation of our inner lives is God’s goal for us, He also abundantly provides good physical gifts to His children (food, clothing, houses, etc.), and He loves to do it.4 Yet most of us, at one time or another, focus on the gifts rather than on the Giver. That’s when we regress in our contentment and joy and we quench the Spirit’s transforming work within us, because we are focusing on the wrong things. That may be why the Lord sometimes limits His gift-giving to us—so we do not stumble over the gifts and fall away from Him.

Picture two hands. In the right hand there are the offer of true contentment, the ability to handle life’s problems without being overcome by them, amazing peace that sees us through all circumstances, wisdom to know what to do, knowledge and constant direction for life, love for others, acceptance of ourselves, joy no matter what, and, at the end of life, an eternity with the God who freely gives all these gifts.

The other hand holds all the money and power and “success” the world has to offer, without any of what the right hand holds. Which would you choose? The Bible says, “Where your treasure is, there also is your heart.”5 That which is in the right hand is the biblical definition of success.—From gotquestions.org6

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The one big key to becoming a successful person is giving your life to making the lives of others better. If you decide today to give your life—and by “life” I mean your time, your attention, your resources—to making the lives of other people better, you will discover success. …

It’s what Jesus did, teaching, feeding, healing, and serving others to the point of laying down his life as a ransom for all who would follow him.

As a Christian, I believe that the very best thing I can do for anyone else is to share with them the Good News about how they can have a relationship with God through his Son, but I usually only get to share that message with people who trust me on some level.

And why would people trust me? I believe people trust me when I demonstrate my commitment to making their lives better.

When you give your life to helping other humans flourish, you’ll find success. In other words:
Life is about building relationships.
Ministry is about serving people.
Leadership is about elevating others.
Sales is about providing solutions.
Writing is about inspiring or informing readers.
Humanitarianism is about relieving suffering.
Art is about making people think and feel.

It isn’t that success only happens for people in certain professions, or with certain personalities, or with certain advantages and privileges. It’s that success comes to those who see their job, their neighborhood, their church, or their community as a realm in which to serve people.

If your only pursuit in life is your own happiness, you’ll miss out on success because you’ll bypass opportunities to bear pain with and for others. If your only pursuit is financial gain, you can get rich and still miss success because you’ll sell without serving. If your only pursuit is power and authority, you’ll miss out on success because you’ll see people as a means to your own fulfillment. …

Give your life to helping people, to serving people, to loving people, to meeting needs, to being a friend, to providing resources, to answering questions, and fixing problems, and educating minds and encouraging hearts. … The more you forget about yourself, the more fulfilled you’ll become. …

The one big key to real success in life is giving the rest of your life to making the lives of others better.—Brandon Cox7

*

Jesus said that the secret to happiness and success is to “seek the kingdom of God above all else,” but does that work today? Can we lead God-centered lives and do more than survive in this materialistic world? I believe we can.

To “seek the kingdom of God above all else” means to bring our priorities into line with God’s, so the first step is to honestly assess our values and goals in life.

The next step is to understand God’s priorities. How would He like to see us live? Many people stop here because they expect God to ask impossibly complicated and sacrificial things of them. Actually, He makes it pretty simple: “What does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”8 “You, my brothers and sisters, … serve one another humbly in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”9Easier said than done, but doable.

The Bible doesn’t say that “money is the root of all evil,” but rather “the love of money is the root of all evil.”10 God has promised to supply our needs through His riches in glory in Christ Jesus,11 and He even blesses us materially when we will use those blessings to “do justly, love mercy, walk humbly with our God”12 and “love our neighbor.”13

When our values are in line with God’s values and we let His priorities become our priorities, He never fails to care for His own.—Keith Phillips

Published on Anchor October 2020. Read by Jerry Paladino. Music by Michael Dooley. 

https://anchor.tfionline.com/post/how-successful-are-you/

1 John 14:15, 23–24.
2 John 3:16.
3 Matthew 16:26.
4 Matthew 6:25–33.
5 Matthew 6:21.
6 https://www.gotquestions.org/success-Bible.html.
7 https://brandonacox.com/keytosuccess.
8 Micah 6:8.
9 Galatians 5:13, 14 NIV.
10 1 Timothy 6:10.
11 Philippians 4:19.
12 Micah 6:8.
13 Mark 12:31.

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Para Isto Temos Jesus

Compilação

Para as alegrias e as tristezas,
Para os tempos bons e ruins,
Para este momento e para amanhã,
Para tudo o que ficou para trás,
Para os temores que me cercam,
Para o fracasso dos meus planos,
Para os sonhos de tudo que espero ser,
Para a verdade do que sou,

Para isto tenho Jesus.
Para isto tenho Jesus.
Para isto eu tenho Jesus, eu tenho Jesus.

Para as lágrimas que correm em segredo
Nos momentos difíceis,
Para os momentos de júbilo
Ou quando estou perturbado,
Para todos os desapontamentos
Ou a dor de antigos remorsos,
Todas as minhas orações e anseios
Que não parecem ter sido atendidos,
Para a fraqueza do meu corpo,
Para os fardos de cada dia,
Para as noites de dúvidas e preocupação
Quando o sono me foge
E preciso de encorajamento
E vontade para recomeçar
E uma perseverança de aço

A da força para lutar e conquistar.

Para isto tenho Jesus
Para isto tenho Jesus
Para isto eu tenho Jesus, eu tenho Jesus.

—Graham Kendrick[1]

Esta canção foi inspirada por uma frase de um sermão. O professor bíblico Charles Price estava pregando na Colheita da Primavera de 1994, e ilustrou alguns dos pontos em sua palestra referindo-se a um cristão idoso que ele conhecia. Durante muitos anos, seu amigo usou este simples mas profundo ditado que aplicava a tudo com o qual se deparava, quer desafio quer tragédia: “Para isso eu tenho Jesus.”

Eu estava sentado na plataforma, porque estava guiando a adoração naquela reunião. Ao ouvir, comecei a ver não apenas a questão, mas também o potencial para uma canção. ... Acabou sendo uma daquelas canções que encorajam as pessoas que estão passando por dificuldades, uma fórmula para ajudar a levar seus problemas a Cristo em vez de recorrer à preocupação, medo e ansiedade e culpar outras pessoas — uma tendência natural quando as coisas não dão certo.

Todos nós nos apoiamos em algo, particularmente nos tempos difíceis. A questão é a qualidade daquilo no qual nos apoiamos. É um substituto, uma falsificação, ou é a coisa real? O ensinamento cristão é que não fomos feitos para sermos independentes de Deus. Fomos feitos para Deus, e para encontrarmos realização em um relacionamento com Ele. Portanto, sem isso, estamos incompletos e não cumprimos o propósito da nossa existência. …

Mas não precisamos de Jesus apenas para os maus momentos, precisamos dEle também nos bons tempos, como diz a canção. Precisamos dEle para sabermos lidar com o sucesso, o qual pode nos tentar à presunção ou nos fazer achar que realizamos algo grandioso sozinhos—e não que, na realidade, recebemos da graça de Deus. Para esses tempos temos também Jesus, o Jesus que veio ao seu mundo não para ser servido, mas para servir, e cujo maior sucesso pareceu na época ser um imenso fracasso—a cruz.—Graham Kendrick[2]

Tudo dará certo no final

Alguém cuja âncora a segurou por todos os problemas que quase a dominaram, toda a dor que suportou e as tempestades que quase obscureceram sua luz, foi Fanny Crosby. Ela era uma famosa poetisa americana que ficou cega quanto tinha seis semanas de idade devido a um tratamento médico inadequado. Ela tem sido frequentemente chamada de a rainha dos compositores de canções evangélicas. Até 1915, antes de regressar ao seu lar celestial para junto do Senhor aos 95 anos de idade, ela havia escrito mais de 8 mil hinos evangélicos. Milhões de pessoas foram tocadas pela beleza das palavras que brotaram de sua caneta.

Fanny escreveu uma canção chamada “Twill All Be Right at Last” [Tudo dará certo no final] sobre oração. Às vezes, quando oramos por coisas, não obtemos imediatamente as respostas pelas quais estamos orando, e então começamos a nos desencorajar. Segue-se um encorajamento de Fanny Crosby sobre orar e continuar orando mesmo que não vejamos a resposta.

Ora, continua orando, não te canses
Por maior que seja o conflito;
Olha pra cima com coragem e confia no Senhor
Que te cerca sempre com amor.
Lembra-te como Ele tem guiado,
Por toda a labuta e perigo do passado;
Embora tua oração ainda não tenha sido atendida,
Tudo dará certo no final.

Ora, continua orando, ainda hás de vencer.
Ora com esperança inabalável,
“Tudo o que pedires, será feito,”
A promessa é infalível.
Agarra-te firme à rocha inabalável,
E mantem tua âncora firme;
As nuvens romperão, a luz virá,
Tudo dará certo no final.

Podemos confiar que não importa o que enfrentemos ou por quanto tempo, tudo que entregamos ao Senhor em oração dará certo no final.—Maria Fontaine

"Blessed Assurance" de Franny Crosby cantada por Alan Jackson com legendas português.

Para isto temos o Seu amor

Minha primeira diretora do coral infantil era uma senhora chamada Carolyn Miller. Ela era uma das maiores entusiastas em ensinar crianças a amarem música. ... Foi no verão de 2001 que ouvi a notícia de que a Sra. Carolyn fora diagnosticada com câncer no quadril. Não consigo imaginar o choque da família Miller na época. Mas pessoas de todo o país começaram a encorajar esta mulher com a esperança de que seria curada. No verão de 2003 soube que o tratamento da Sra. Carolyn não estava funcionando como esperavam e o câncer havia se espalhado tão rápido que tiveram que amputar uma de suas pernas. Nunca esquecerei esse dia, por várias razões.

Primeiro, nunca esquecerei quando ouvi as notícias e como fiquei profundamente confuso. Por quê? Por que Deus faria isso a uma mulher tão temente a Deus, uma esposa e mãe? Em segundo lugar, lembro que eu e Deus tivemos uma conversa de coração para coração. Eu era uma rapaz de 16 anos e tinha muita dificuldade para aceitar que o Deus que amava e ao qual dedicava minha vida permitiria algo assim. E em terceiro lugar, e o mais importante, lembro-me da resposta clara de Deus a todas as minhas perguntas e dúvidas.

Naquela mesma noite eu guiava um avivamento na Primeira Igreja Batista na pequena cidade de Fruitvale, no Texas. Havia apenas cerca de 50 pessoas naquela pequena igreja do interior. [O pastor] falava sobre como a dificuldade nesta vida nem sempre pode ser explicada e como temos que confiar no Senhor no topo da montanha, assim como no vale. Ele então disse o seguinte... “Em minha família sempre dizíamos uma frase nos bons e maus momentos: ‘Para isto temos Jesus... para isto temos Jesus’”...

Fui para casa naquela noite e na quietude do meu quarto escrevi o seguinte:

Para isto temos Jesus,
Para isto temos o Senhor.
Para isto temos Jesus e Seu eterno amor.
Podemos nunca entender o propósito, ou o porquê.
Mas para isto temos Jesus,
Para isto temos o Senhor.

... Há uma concepção errônea de que aqueles que depositam sua fé e confiança em Jesus Cristo não terão mais nenhuma dor ou dificuldade. Os que são filhos de Deus, quando olham para as cicatrizes e pisaduras desta vida, sabem que isto está longe da verdade. Todos nós enfrentamos dificuldades inesperadas, dor e perda nesta vida e, embora não compreendamos totalmente, Deus permite que essas provações nos fortaleçam e nos ensinem mais sobre Ele. E esta paz inexplicável que Ele promete não vem da ausência de conflito, mas de estarmos próximos ao Pai Celestial.

... Portanto, ao caminhamos por esta vida de alegrias e tristezas, luz e trevas, novo e velho, e vida e morte ... para isto temos Jesus.—John Bolin

Publicado no Âncora em outubro de 2020. https://anchor.tfionline.com/pt/post/para-isto-temos-jesus/

[1] Copyright © 1994 Make Way Music, www.grahamkendrick.co.uk.
[2] https://www.grahamkendrick.co.uk/stories-behind-the-songs/stories-behind-the-song/for-this-i-have-jesus-for-the-joys-and-for-the-sorrows.

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For This We Have Jesus

A compilation

Audio length: 11:25 Download Audio (10.4MB)

For the joys and for the sorrows
The best and worst of times
For this moment, for tomorrow
For all that lies behind
Fears that crowd around me
For the failure of my plans
For the dreams of all I hope to be
The truth of what I am

For this I have Jesus
For this I have Jesus
For this I have Jesus, I have Jesus.

For the tears that flow in secret
In the broken times
For the moments of elation
Or the troubled mind
For all the disappointments
Or the sting of old regrets
All my prayers and longings
That seem unanswered yet
For the weakness of my body
The burdens of each day
For the nights of doubt and worry
When sleep has fled away
Needing reassurance
And the will to start again
A steely-eyed endurance
The strength to fight and win

For this I have Jesus
For this I have Jesus
For this I have Jesus, I have Jesus.
—Graham Kendrick1

This song was triggered by a line from a sermon. Bible teacher Charles Price was preaching at Spring Harvest in 1994, and illustrated some of the points in his talk by referring to an elderly Christian he knew. For many years his friend had this simple but profound saying that he would apply whatever came his way, whether challenge or tragedy: “For this I have Jesus.”

I was sitting on the platform, because I was leading worship in that meeting. As I listened, I began to see not only the point, but also the potential for a song. … It’s turned out to be one of those songs that encourage people who are going through difficulties, a formula to help them bring their problems to Christ instead of resorting to worrying, fear and anxiety and blaming other people—which is always what we tend to do when things go wrong.

We all lean on something, particularly when the hard times come. The question is the quality of what we are leaning on. Is it a substitute, a counterfeit, or is it the real thing? The Christian teaching is that we were never made to be simply independent of God; we were made for God, and to find fulfilment in a relationship with him. So without that we are incomplete and we haven’t fulfilled the purpose of our existence. …

But we don’t need Jesus just for the bad times. We need him in the good times, too—as the song points out. We need him to cope with our success. Success can tempt us to become presumptuous or imagine that somehow we’ve done something great all by ourselves—as opposed to it really coming from the grace of God. For those times we have Jesus, too, the Jesus who came into his world not to be served, but to serve, and whose greatest success appeared at the time to be a gigantic failure—the cross.—Graham Kendrick2

It will all be right at last

Someone whose anchor held through all the troubles that almost overwhelmed her, and the grief that she endured, and the storms that almost obscured her light was Fanny Crosby. She was a famous American poetess who became blind at six weeks of age through improper medical treatment. She’s often been called the queen of gospel songwriters. Before she went home to be with the Lord at the age of 95 in 1915, she had written more than 8,000 gospel hymns. Millions have been touched by the beauty of the words that flowed from her pen.

Fanny wrote a song called “Twill All Be Right at Last” on the theme of prayer. Sometimes when we pray for things, we don’t get the answers right away that we’re praying for, and then we start to get discouraged. Here is some encouragement by Fanny Crosby about praying and continuing to pray even though we don’t see the answer.

Pray on, pray on, O weary not,
Tho’ great thy conflict be;
Look bravely up, and trust in Him
Whose love abides with thee.
Remember how He led thee forth,
Thro’ toil and dangers past;
Tho’ yet unanswered is thy prayer,
It’ll all be right at last. 

'Twill all be right at last, 'twill all be right

'Twill all be right at last;

Pray on, pray on, o weary not,

'Twill all be right at last.    

Pray on, pray on, with steadfast hope,
For thou shalt yet prevail;
“Ask what thou wilt, it shall be done,”
The promise cannot fail.
Cling firmly to the solid rock,
And hold the anchor fast;
The clouds will break, the light will come,
It’ll all be right at last.

'Twill all be right at last, 'twill all be right

'Twill all be right at last;

Pray on, pray on, o weary not,

'Twill all be right at last.  

We can trust that no matter what we face or how long it takes, everything we commit to the Lord in prayer will all be right at last.—Maria Fontaine

The following is a documentary about Franny Crosby

Jesse Dixon singing Franny's "Blessed Assurance."

For this we have His love

My first children’s choir director was a lady by the name of Carolyn Miller. She had one of the largest hearts for teaching kids to love music. ... It was the summer of 2001 that I heard the news that Ms. Carolyn was diagnosed with cancer in her hip. I can’t imagine the shock that the Millers felt during this time. But people from all over the country began to lift this woman up with a hope that she would be healed. It was the summer of 2003 when I learned that Ms. Carolyn’s treatment was not working as they hoped and the cancer had spread so fast that they had to amputate one of her legs. I will never forget this day for a few reasons.

First, I’ll never forget when I heard the news and how I felt such a deep sense of confusion. Why? Why would God do this to an incredibly godly woman, wife, and mother? Secondly, I remember God and I had a heart-to-heart. This 16-year-old boy was really struggling with how the God he loved and devoted his life to could allow this to happen. And thirdly, and most importantly, I remember God’s clear answer to all of my questions and doubt.

That very evening I was leading a revival at First Baptist Church in a small town of Fruitvale, Texas. There were only about 50 people there in that small country church. [The pastor] was sharing about how the difficulty in this life cannot always be explained and how we have to trust the Lord on the mountaintop as well as in the valley. Then he said this … “In my family,” he said, “we always had a phrase that we would share in good times and bad, ‘for this we have Jesus … for this we have Jesus.’”…

I went home that night and in the quietness of my bedroom penned these words,

For this we have Jesus,
For this we have the Lord.
For this we have Jesus and His Love forevermore.
We may never see the purpose, or know the reason why.
But for this we have Jesus,
For this we have the Lord.

… There is a misconception that those that put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ will then cease from any pain or struggle thereafter. For those who are children of God, as we look at the scars and bruises of this life, you know this to be far from the truth. We all face unexpected difficulties, pain, and loss in this life, and even though we do not fully understand it, God allows these sifted moments to strengthen and teach us more about Himself. And this unexplainable peace He promises comes not from the absence of conflict, but in our proximity to the Heavenly Father.

… So as we walk this life of joy and sorrow, light and darkness, new and old, and life and death … for this we have Jesus.—John Bolin

Published on Anchor October 2020. Read by Simon Peterson. Music by John Listen.

https://anchor.tfionline.com/post/we-have-jesus/

1 Copyright © 1994 Make Way Music, www.grahamkendrick.co.uk.
2 https://www.grahamkendrick.co.uk/stories-behind-the-songs/stories-behind-the-song/for-this-i-have-jesus-for-the-joys-and-for-the-sorrows.

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Standing Up for Your Rights

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 Apostle Paul used his Roman citizenship and stood up for his rights. But we have a saying, "You can't fight city hall." In other words, you can't fight the government. Another saying is, "He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day." Only by being in tune with the Lord moment by moment will you know what is ultimately right. 

Thomas Moore and Martin Luther, and Martin Luther King Jr and many other decided they had to take a stand no matter what the out come and confronted the powers that be. Many of the prophets of God died for the right to speak the truth when neither the political nor religious leaders wanted to hear it. Please stand up for the truth in love and with respect for others.

 I think the pastor did a good job of convincing the first officer that maybe the pastor had legal grounds for his actions. The second supervisor didn't want to enter to any real conversation and just threw the authority bag at the pastor. Whatever you do, be careful and prayerful and yet boldly stand up for your faith in Jesus.

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